October 2003
WIN AT WORK MONTHLY
A Community Service of DON D. SESSIONS, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP., Employee Rights Attorneys
Win at Work	Employee Rights Update
WORK “Work” is both a verb and a noun, an activity and a product derived from that activity. According to Joanne B. Ciulla, “Work . . . does so many different things. We do work and we go to a place called work. Work is something we have, something we own, and something we make. There are works of art, architecture, music, and literature. One can admire the work of a surgeon, an accountant, an auto mechanic, or a carpet salesman. We can work a room, a piece of wood, bread dough, or a stuck lock. We can work it out, work out, do good works, work someone over, or get worked up, and if we’re not careful, we can even become workaholics.” Even those out of work, work very hard to find new work. Work has also been defined as a necessary part of one’s spiritual pursuits. Work truly is an amazing word!	JURY DUTY LEAVE RIGHTS Trial by jury is a Constitutional right. Accordingly, an employer can’t fire you for serving on a jury. Usually, you don’t have to use your vacation days for your jury time either. If you are a salaried employee, your employer can’t make any deductions from your salary for any absence of less than one week, including time spent on jury duty. Some employers even provide benefits while you are serving on a jury, including full pay. Any daily payment by the court for your jury duty should be deducted from any pay you get from the employer. Check your own employee handbook or ask your Human Resources Department what provisions are made for employees on jury duty. If it’s a tremendous financial hardship for you to serve on a jury, the court may release you or schedule you for a shorter trial. Employees who serve as jurists are entitled to have their jobs protected. It’s only right.
Update on our attorneys: Patrick Mortimer and Don Sessions resolved several cases totaling in the low six-figure range. Western State Law School invited us to teach a Wrongful Termination class next semester.
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the “Life and Work Q & A” column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine. E-mail us at win-at-work@job-law.com to have your address added or removed from our monthly mailing list. For more employee rights information or for past issues of Win at Work Monthly, click here for our website, job-law.com; here to order our book, Employee Rights in California; or contact our office directly at 23456 Madero, Suite 170, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (949) 380-0900, (800) 774-7494, mailto:info@job-law.com. The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column, which appears in the Los Angeles Times’ “Career Builder Magazine” and elsewhere. Win at Work Monthly is intended for general information and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers in need of legal advice should promptly retain the services of an attorney. ©2003 by Don D. Sessions.